Chapter 8

We talked while I walked toward the jewelry store, hugging my bag tight. It felt much heavier with the cup inside, not because of its weight, but its potential value. I couldn't help but be careful.

Eventually, I arrived at the shop. I was greeted by the clerk, wearing a full black suit. He looked incredibly sharp and professional, a complete contrast to my casual shirt and short pants.

“What can I help you with today, Sir?”

The sheer politeness made me nervous. A glance at the price listed on the various jewelry being sold told me that this place isn't somewhere a penniless university student is supposed to be.

“Umm… I want to sell something.”

“Right this way, Sir.”

On the counter, there was a lady in a long, dazzling red dress, talking with a female clerk. It wasn’t the kind of clothes I expected from someone visiting the mall. They seemed to be having some kind of serious conversation. Eavesdropping would be impolite, so I went straight to the male clerk that was helping me out earlier.

“Do you have your original receipt?”

“Uh, no, I didn't buy it from here.”

Despite hearing my unreasonable request, the clerk maintained his professional smile.

“My apologies, Sir, but our store does not deal with items that aren't purchased from us.”

“I- I understand.”

I didn't want to give up. Elerina's out there fighting for her life. I couldn't give up from something so small. But, what should I do? I didn't want to be unreasonable, and I understand that what I'm doing is very suspicious.

“Oh, you have something you want to sell?” Came a dignified female voice. I turned to my right, finding the lady in red dress looking at me.

“Ye- yes, Ma’am.”

“May I have a look at it?”

I opened my bag and took out the golden cup. The cup glowed under the bright lights. Everyone there let out a slight gasp upon seeing it. They maintained their professional smiles, however, but it was obvious that they were shocked.

“My, my…”

I let her touch it, figuring that she wouldn't do anything bad to me, since we're in a mall.

“Interesting… very interesting… where did you get this from?”

“My great grandfather’s basement,” I lied, but I doubt anyone would believe me if I said otherwise. From the corner of my vision, I could see Elerina peering into the screen. I’m not sure if the others’ voices were translated or not, but she could guess what’s going on based on what I said.

“Is this some kind of family artifact?”

“Probably.”

“Is it something you should be selling?”

Honestly, no. But, the owner herself said that it's alright.

If I could give them a convincing excuse, maybe I would be able to get something from it. “There's a note asking us to sell it when it becomes valuable. Apparently an argument with my grandmother.”

The lady glanced at the female clerk she was previously talking with. The clerk nodded and picked up the cup, bringing it into the store. The lady opened her wallet.

“How much do you want?”

“Umm… ah…”

“Don't worry, we'll reward you appropriately, assuming it's real gold.”

She pulled out ten, one hundred Rupiah bills, and set them down on the display. She pushed the cash toward me.

“I believe myself as someone with a strong intuition, and I have a feeling we would be working together a lot in the future, so count this as a down payment.”

Either her intuition is that strong, or she could tell its value just from touching it. I couldn't imagine casually giving someone a million Rupiah to someone I hardly know.

The lady glanced at the male clerk. The male clerk nodded and went behind the store. It wasn't long until he returned and whispered a few things.

“Very interesting…” the lady nodded a couple of times. She then turned to me. “How long can you wait? Is there something else you need to do here?”

“Ah- no, no. I don't have anything else.”

It's nice to be able to pick up some groceries while I wait, but at the same time, I couldn't just leave. I don't know why she trusts me, but I don't really trust her. I wouldn't just abandon the cup.

“I see… then wait for a few more minutes.”

“Yes.”

Ten minutes passed by. Elerina kept glancing at me, looking tense. I pulled out my phone, and showed her the various jewelry below with the camera. I thought that would reduce the tension a bit.

“They’re so pretty…” Elerina murmured. “Ah, I like that one.”

I pretended like I was fiddling with my phone, not in a video call, so I couldn’t answer her. I pointed it to the ring section and zoomed in on the one I thought she liked.

“No, the one to its left.”

The small jewel was colored dark green, similar to her armor. It does look incredibly dazzling.

While I’m showing Elerina the ring, the male clerk had been going in and out of the store’s rear, whispering things to the lady. The lady didn't say anything, replying only with a nod. A few more minutes passed, and the female clerk appeared from the store. She whispered some things to the lady. For the briefest of moments, I saw her raise her eyebrows, but she kept her calm, straight expression.

“I see… your account?”

I gave her my bank number.

“Does your great grandfather have more of these?”

“I think so… he works with a lot of precious metals back in the day…”

I felt awful for lying, but there was simply no way I could point at Elerina, who clearly isn't in the room with us.

“Is he a goldsmith?”

“Not sure… I think working with these is just his hobby. He has some other business he runs.”

Sorry great grandfather, great grandmother.

So far, the lady seemed to buy my story.

“I consider myself someone well-versed in gold, and I must admit, I have never seen anything like this.”

They came from another world. I would be surprised if she saw them before.

“Well then, let's make a deal. You come to us for anything you want to sell, and we give you a good price.”

“Sure.”

“But we need to do some lab tests first, so I'll give you a quarter of the price first, the rest I'll send over once we're done.”

“I don't mind. Do we need a contract?”

The lady chuckled. “Sure, better for the both of us.”

The lady signaled to one of the clerks. They quickly work to type up a contract. I motioned Elerina to come closer.

“I couldn't read this.”

So only my voice got translated.

“Can I read this out aloud? Just to make sure I didn’t misread it.”

“Feel free.”

The contract’s contents are rather simple. The store would do testing on the gold, and would do a check to make sure it's not a stolen item. If the gold is found to be as pure as the tests, and no proof of it being stolen is found, then the store would pay me the rest of the value.

If it turns out to be stolen, then the store would give the cup to the authorities and I may be taken in for questioning. If it isn't pure gold, then either value gets reevaluated, or I have the option of returning the money and receiving the cup back.

What surprised me the most is the number I saw at the bottom.

“The cup shall be valued at two hundred million Rupiah.”

And that is a crazy amount of money.

“So- so a quarter would be…”

“Fifty million, right here, right now.”

I gulped. I was, admittedly, really worried. I knew nothing about gold. I wouldn't be able to defend myself in court had I been tricked, but I need the money to help Elerina.

“Okay.”

I nodded, and signed.